How often do you change your light bulbs? If you use the out-dated incandescent light bulbs, you probably find yourself replacing the bulb once every 6 months or so. If you use the more energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs, you might find yourself replacing them every 3-4 years. Now, imagine if you didn’t have to replace your bulbs for 17 years! That’s truly a “set it and forget it” kind of deal.

Recently GE announced a new bulb that will last 17 years before it finally dies. It is an LED (light-emitting diode) version, which is even more efficient that the compact fluorescent counterpart. Their use is very comparable to incandescent as you do not need to wait a few minutes before it is fully bright, as compact fluorescent light bulbs do.

However, the cost for each bulb will be in the range of $40-50 each.

Here’s what you can expect from these new 17-year LED bulbs:

• Expected to consume just 9 watts—compared with 40-watt incandescent/halogen or 10-watt CFL, while delivering nearly the same light output;
• Expected 25,000-hour rated life—will last 17 years (4 hours per day), which is 25 times longer than a general service 40-watt incandescent or halogen bulb and more than 3 times longer than a standard 8,000-hour rated life CFL;
• LED technology delivers the instant full brightness of an incandescent or halogen bulb;
• Durable solid-state design with no filament to break;
• Contains no mercury and will be RoHS compliant; and
• Feels cooler to the touch than CFLs and far cooler than incandescent bulbs.

Expect these new LED bulbs to hit your local supermarket shelves later this year or early next year.

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